


Off To Africa, Sir

by lupinseclipse



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Alex Claremont-Diaz - Freeform, Alternate Universe - World War II, Angst, Gay, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor - Freeform, Kinda Fluffy, M/M, Officers and Captains, Oppressed homosexuality (kinda), POV Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Pain, Pez is cockney, Red White and Royal Blue AU, Two boys just wanna be in love, WWII AU, War, World War II, alex and henry, being gay is illegal, firstprince, mlm, very angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:00:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27051562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lupinseclipse/pseuds/lupinseclipse
Summary: Alex, a young American officer in the British Army is being transferred to the African Front.Unfortunately, Henry, the Captin of officers, has become rather attached to Alex.
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44





	Off To Africa, Sir

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever firstprince fanfiction so i hope its okay! It's inspired by Ghosts, S2 E3, which I think can be found on the BBC iPlayer (UK ONLY)
> 
> This is dedicated to my amazing friend Eric, who texted me one day asking if we could be friends. I haven't left him alone since.
> 
> Anyways, enough of my babbling, enjoy the story!!
> 
> NOTE: Pez is a cockney in this one shot, so that's why his speech looks a little funny
> 
> ANOTHER NOTE: I don't know much about WWII and how the army worked with all the brigades and officers etc, so please don't call me out if I've got it wrong. I have tried my best.
> 
> Enjoy!

Henry paces in front of his desk, his hands clasped together behind his back, waiting for the officers. He needs to get the news to them right away, so they can go and tell their troops. 

"Come on, come on," He mutters, checking the time on his pocket watch, "Hurry up everyone."

The doors swing open then, and in walks good ol' Pez, humming cheerily away to himself.

"Mornin' sir!" He says, sitting down in one of the chairs in front of Henry's desk, "'Ow are ya today?"

"Morning Pez," Henry smiles. He's good friends with Pez, and finds him wonderful company, "It's been a tough one, but I'm alright thanks. How are you?"

"I'm jolly well, fanks sir," Pez replies, "Go' a le''a from me sista yesterday tellin' me she were pregnan'. I'm gunna be an uncle, sir!"

"That's bloody amazing Pez! I'm happy for you, chum," Henry says, smiling and clapping Pez on the back.

"Fanks sir," Pez continues, "I can barely believe it meself. Fancy. Me, an uncle!"

"You'll have to wait at least nine months before you can see the little bugger," Henry chuckles, "How many gone is she?"

"Don' rightly know, sir. She finks she's just ova four mumfs," Pez says.

"Well, either way, I'm jolly pleased for you," Henry says, and Pez beams at him, "Now, do you know where the rest of the officers are? I told them all to be here at 1030 hours, sharp."

"Don' know, sorry sir. Alfough, I did see Claremon' walkin' to the General's office."

"Why would-" Henry starts to ask, but then the doors burst open and all the other officers walked into the room, chatting and laughing merrily with one another. All except young Alex Claremont-Diaz. Who was, according to Pez, at the General's office, though God knows why. The lad hasn't done anything wrong. Nothing that Henry knows of, anyway. He hopes that Alex isn't in trouble.

"Hello there Fox!" One of the officers, James Redding calls, grinning at Henry, "What's this meeting for then?"

"Oi, quit it James," The officer next to him, who Henry thinks is called Archie Wilson, "You've gotta call him 'sir', remember?"

"Ah, bugger. Sorry sir. Forgot," James says, sitting down next to Archie, "Just used to calling you Fox."

"It's alright Redding," Henry replies, "Just remember your manners please. Now please can everyone sit down!"

The officers all grin at Henry, calling various greetings out to each other and Henry, then gather and sit in the chairs in front of Henry's desk in the room.

Henry looks at his officers, "Is everyone here?" He asks, "I have some rather important news, and I would only like to say it once, really."

"Your bruva ain't 'ere sir," Pez points out, and Henry sighs, rubbing his forehead. Trust Philip to be late.

"Ah yes. Thanks for spotting, Pez. When will the bugger get here, I wonder," He says, leaning back against the desk, "Talk amongst yourselves while we wait for my brother. He shouldn't be too long. I hope."

The officers immediately break out into steady chatter, and Henry goes around his desk, looking through the papers.

"Come on Philip, hurry up old boy," He mutters to himself, organising the files.

They all only have to wait a few minutes before Philip bursts in, looking decidedly flustered.

"Awfully sorry I'm late, chaps," He says, rushing into a seat near the back, "Got held up by a soldier."

"Not to worry, Fox," Henry calls, smiling tiredly, "You're here now. Did you see Claremont on your travels?"

"No sir," Philip replies, "Though I believe he is in the General's office."

"Alright, we'll start without him then," Henry decides, standing up and walking around to the front of the desk again, "I can get one of you to pass the message onto him. Anyway!

"I suppose you are all wondering why I've gathered you here. Well, there is news that Jerry is planning a rather nasty attack on our trenches and will increase the scale of bombing here in Britain," Henry's face is grave as he explains what is going on.

"I need you to ready your men in your brigades and prepare them for the attack. Get them ready and brief them about it. Tell them to expect the worse. It's due to be the biggest attack yet."

The officers are silent as Henry briefs them about the attack, all sat straight, faces neutral. They knew that the Germans had been planning a massive attack, but none of them expected it to come around so soon. 

"Which brigades are going where, sir?" Archie asks quietly, looking straight at Henry, his 'war face' on.

"Seven through to fifteen are heading over to the Front to support the soldiers out there and keep the battle steady at the trenches," Henry says.

"Sixteen, seventeen and eighteen will be up in the air in France over the Front. Nineteen, twenty and twenty-one will be in the air here in Britain. Sixteen through to twenty-one will also be rotating patrols over the channel, two brigades at a time.

"Then, I believe twenty-two to thirty are on foot around Britain. Twenty-two to twenty-five are posted in areas in London and twenty-six to thirty are all around the south coasts. 

"Then finally, brigades thirty-one to thirty-five are also heading over to France to patrol the north coast. You will all be given your specific locations through the coms in the usual code at some point before 1200 hours today. Anyone heading to France - not the air force - will be sailing at 1230 hours exactly, so make sure you are at the ports on time.

"There is no room for messing this up, men," He continues, giving the officers a hard stare, "I know some of you can be a little scatty, but I need you to be in the right zone now. We are fighting for King and country. Do not let us down."

There is a steady silence after Henry finishes speaking, then Officer Logan Pritchard speaks up.

"I shall gather my men as soon as you dismiss us sir. We won't let you down."

All the other officers nod and mutter somethings along the same line as Logan, and Henry nods approvingly.

"Thank you. I believe we will win this blasted war, one way or another. We will get through it,” He says, “Can one of you deliver this message to Claremont if you see him?”

”I’ll do it sir,” James says, “He and I are positioned together.”

”Thank you Redding. Dismissed, men," Henry says, relaxing and moving to sit at his desk as the officers start getting up and leaving, shouting goodbye at Henry and hurrying off to find their brigades. 

"We'll ge' vere, ol' chap," Pez says, "It should be ova soon, then we can go back to drinkin' and partyin' and livin' as we should."

Henry smiles at Pez, "Can't wait for the dammed thing to be over. Say, we should have a get together when it does. How's about that?"

"Would be brillian', sir," Pez smiles, "I be''a be off now. Go''a find me men."

"Go, shoo," Henry says, then just as Pez reaches the doors he calls out, "Hey, Pez?"

Pez looks back at Henry, "Yes sir?"

"Good luck, old fellow."

A smile makes its way not Pez's face, "Fanks. And to you, sir," And he disappears from the room, leaving Henry to sort though his papers.

A little while later, there is a knock at the door as Henry is stood at the window, and someone opens it up and looks in.

"Sir?" They say quietly, as if they are unsure if they should be there.

Henry looks over his shoulder and smiles softly when he sees Alex Claremont-Diaz, his head poked through a gap in the door, holding it open so he is ready to leave if Henry is busy. He looks hesitant, but Henry just smiles. He has missed this young officer.

"Everything alright Claremont?" He asks, turning his body slightly so he is looking at Alex properly, "Do come on in and shut the door. There is an awful draught."

"Yes, sir, sorry sir," Alex says, entering the room properly and shutting the door behind him, "I was wondering if I could speak to you for a moment, privately?"

"Of course, my friend. Come, join me," Henry nods towards the space next to him at the window, and Alex walks over, hands behind his back and stands next to Henry, "What is it then?"

"Sir, I wanted to tell you that I'm being promoted to a captain."

"Why, that's splendid, old chap! Moving up the ranks! See. Didn't I tell you that you'd get there, eh? And how you have!" Henry positively beams at Alex, genuinely excited for this young officer to be moving up in the army.

"Yes sir. Thank you sir," Alex replies, a small smile on his face, "However, that does mean more than just 'moving up in the ranks,' sir."

Henry keeps smiling, but his brows come together a little, as if he's confused - which he is, "Beg your pardon? What else does it mean then?"

"Well, they want to put me in charge of the officers of the first through to sixth brigades," Alex says, "Which means I'm off to Africa, sir."

Henry is silent for a moment. They both are as they try to process what this means.

"Off to Africa, eh?" Henry says, breaking the silence, his voice quiet. He can't quite look at Alex, so keeps looking out of the window. Out of his peripheral vision, he can see Alex doing the same.

"Yes sir," Alex's voice is also quiet, "I'm due to be leaving at 0900 hours tomorrow with my men."

"That's... That's awfully good for you, Claremont," Henry replies, then clears his throat, "How, er... How long will you be out there?"

"Don't rightly know, sorry," The American says, "Somewhere between eight and twelve months. Maybe even longer."

"Right, well," Henry says, trying to hide his emotions. He has become rather attached to the young American officer over the few months he had been in his group of officers, and is sad to see him go, "You'll be doing a dam good job out there. Giving them a good kick up the arse, eh?"

Alex chuckles lightly, "Yes sir. I suppose we will."

The two stand in silence for a small while just happy to be in each others presence, though they were standing a little too close together to be appropriate for colleagues to stand. Even friends. 

"Well, I better get back to my men," Alex says, breaking the silence and turning to face Henry, "It was a pleasure working with you, sir."

"And you, Claremont," Henry says, facing Alex, a sad smile on his face, "Say, you don't think you could come here quickly before you leave tomorrow, do you? Only, I would rather like to see you once more before you go."

Alex smiles slightly, "I'm sure I could manage to visit you quickly."

"Wonderful, thank you, Claremont," He holds our his hand, and Alex takes it, "I shall see you in the morning." 

"In the morning, sir," Alex says, shaking Henry's hand, then dropping it.

"Dismissed, officer," Henry says quietly, nodding at Alex.

"Thank you, sir," Alex nods, sending Henry one last smile, then salutes him and walks out of the room, off to find his men and prepare them.

Henry walks back over to his desk and sits down heavily, resting his head in his hands.

He doesn't want to say goodbye to Alex, for he has grown fond of him. He wants Alex to stay, or for him to go with Alex. That way they could spend time together without anything seeing suspicious.

Why is everything so complicated? Why can't he just be with Alex? They both want to be together, but the ridiculous laws state that they simply can't be together. 

He rubs his face then sits up. It would be unseemly for a captain to be sitting slumped at his desk worrying over a man. No. That wouldn't do.

***

The next morning, at 0830 hours, Henry is sat at his desk finishing off a very important letter when there is a knock at the door.

"Come in!" He calls as he seals the envelope, scrawling the name on the outside. He looks over to the door and sees Alex stood there, in his new captains uniform, ready to depart for Africa. Henry smiles softly and stands, "Hello Alex."

Alex smiles sheepishly and walks further into the room, closing the door behind him and standing by Henry's desk.

"Hello sir," He replies, but Henry shakes his head.

"My name is Henry. Please use it," He says, and a soft blush spreads across Alex's cheeks.

"Okay... Hello, Henry," He says, looking into Henry's eyes and Henry walks around the desk to stand next to Alex.

He reaches up and brushes some hair out of Alex's eyes, his hand cupping his cheek after, not wanting to let the man go. Alex smiles softly and leans into the touch.

"I am going to miss you, Alex," Henry whispers.

"I am going to miss you too, Henry," Alex says in return, his hand coming up to cover Henry's, "It will be strange without seeing you everyday while I'm in Africa."

"It will be strange not seeing you around here," Henry muses, "I've gotten so used to seeing you each day, talking to you and laughing with you. I do not want to lose you."

Alex turns his head and kisses Henry's palm, "I will come back someday, Henry. I promise."

"You better," Henry says, grinning, "Don't know what I'm going to do without you."

"You've got Pez. And Philip is a good sport," Alex offers helpfully, and Henry chuckles.

"I suppose I do," He takes the envelope off his desk with his free hand, dropping the other from Alex's face and looks at it.

Alex doesn't let Henry's hand go, but he too looks down at the letter, stroking soft circles on the back of Henry's hand with his thumb. Eventually, Henry holds the letter out to Alex, who takes it.

"For when you miss me too much," Henry says, a half hearted smile on his face.

Alex smiles sadly, and tucks the letter into his breast pocket, "I look forward to reading it, thank you."

Henry nods then pulls Alex close to him, hugging him firmly. He knows he shouldn't be doing this, but he really doesn't care. He just wants to hug Alex before he goes. 

Alex hugs him back, his arms wrapping around Henry's neck and his face presses into Henry's shoulder.

"I will come back for you," He whispers, "And when this blasted war is over, we can run away together."

Henry lets out a wet laugh, "That sounds perfectly fairytale, Alex. I love it. We shall definitely do that."

Alex pulls back and cups Henry's face in his hands, wiping away the tears with his thumbs. He gazes into Henry's eyes, then leans up and presses a kiss to Henry's mouth, keeping it soft and chaste. Henry kisses back, just as softly, then breaks away, dropping his arms and taking a step away from Alex, standing to attention.

"Good luck, captain," He says, saluting. 

Alex stands tall and salutes back, "And to you, captain."

"Dismissed," Henry says and nods at Alex, who nods back and turns to walk away. He pauses at the door and looks back at Henry.

"I will see you soon, H," He says quietly, then vanishes behind the door, hurrying away to the ports to gather with his men, then depart for Africa.

Henry walks over to the window, face expressionless and watches the people marching in the streets below by the ports. 

"And I will see you, Al," He whispers ever so softly.

***

_My Darling Alex,_

_I assume you miss me so much over in Africa that you have opened this letter. Do not let any of the men read over your shoulder , else we could get into terrible trouble._

_I want to tell you that I love you so. I never did tell you before, but now you are far away from me, and the chances of you getting killed are high, I thought I better tell you before it's too late. I love you, I love you, I love you. Please do not forget that, my love._

_I hope all is well over in Africa, and you are giving them a massive arse-kicking. Win this for us, yeah? I know you will. You and your men are splendid fighters, and I just know you will win this for us._

_Pez's sister is pregnant. You remember her, right? Alice's her name. I believe her husband is called Richard, and he's in the eighteenth brigade._

_Anyway, Alice's due in about five months. So the little bugger should be out before you get back. And, when you are back, and the war is over, you, me, Pez, Alice, Bea, Philip, June and Nora can all get together for a few drinks to celebrate._

_You better come back to me soon. I doubt I will be able to last long without you, my love. Please do not be gone long._

_Take care of yourself out there._

_Yours Forever,_

_Henry_

_xxx_

**Author's Note:**

> Wow,,,,,,that was interesting to write. I really enjoyed writing this! Firstprince is one of my major ships and I absolutely love it. Comments and Kudos are really appreciated.  
> I'll see you all in the next one. Hopefully, I will write more firstprince soon.  
> Ciao


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